2nd Symposium 2009 in Manchester (23 & 24 May)
Mon, 6 Apr 2009
Press Release
FASTER, LEANER, KEENER, MEANER
Survival of the Fittest in Factual
Munich, 6 April 2009 - Discovery Campus has opened up the registration for its second public conference in 2009. The international symposium titled “Faster, Leaner, Keener, Meaner” takes place in Manchester on 23 & 24 May.
The weekend is shaping up to be packed with content that will lighten the dark skies of the economic landscape. Recessions can be times of innovation and National Geographic Channel have chosen to enter into a new venture! Come along to hear Mark Wild, newly appointed Director of International Development who will work out of London, explain an exciting new direction that strives to bring non-US producers into the Nat Geo US Channel fold.
National Geographic Channel buys 120 hours of programming a year for the US channel. Now they want to go into a much larger market looking for ideas that originate outside of the US, to internationalise the Channel by presenting culturally diverse content to their audience. They want to work with non-US producers to provide a two way street, access to the expertise and quality of one of the biggest brands in the world for the producer, and new talent and stories for them.
Another company still commissioning strongly and looking for the next best non-scripted reality programme is A&E. The network is behind documentary series such as Random 1, Intervention, Growing Up Gotti, Dog the Bounty Hunter and Rollergirls. A&E will be present on a panel of commissioning editors to give us a behind the scenes look at what’s happening in Television around the world.
Innovation in production is key to getting the best out of your budget in times like these. Portal Video from Boston will present an innovative way to save time and money in the rough cut process and a panel devoted to CGI will open a whole new vista of possibilities for incorporating animation into documentary.
Waltz With Bashir did it exquisitely. And at this campus we present a case study of the project. Charlotte Uzu the producer from Films d’Ici will be on hand to explain how they persuaded ARTE to back the project. Not easy, as it was the first project for an animated documentary on a deadly serious subject. It’s all about perseverance, and a really talented film-maker, Ari Folman.
The Twenty Show is ARTE’s answer to which comes first. ARTE Webmaster Sascha Hartmann will illustrate how they conceived of this innovative show which started life as webisodes in partnership with My Space, and will be broadcast as a 90-minute special on the channel soon.
The session will open with a word from vice president PBS Distribution, Tom Koch. Tom has a perspective that will set the tone of the weekend. “A lot of production companies will not survive, the economic climate,” says Tom. And broadcasters are laying off employees at a fierce rate. But Tom has some words of wisdom about what you can do to stay safe. We won’t let the cat out of the bag now. You’ll have to come along to find out! Join us for a weekend of networking, practical advice, debate and revelation in Manchester on 23 & 24 May.
Interested professionals can register by filling out the application form available on the Discovery Campus website: www.discovery-campus.de. Submission deadline is 15 May. Additional information, the complete programme and list of experts will soon be available on the website as well.
The symposium is organised by Discovery Campus in collaboration with the Northern Film Network, Marketing Manchester and MIDAS (Manchester’s investment agency).
The Discovery Campus Masterschool is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Bayerische Staatskanzlei, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and Sächsische Stiftung für Medienausbildung.
